Trainee Cost Consultant Review

On a day to day basis, you're usually pricing a piece of work, for example a foot bridge is being built. On a day to day basis you're analysing the different components and activities involved in building this foot bridge and assigning a cost to them. Analysing different factors that could affect the cost such as location and other constraints.

I have learned new skills, such as estimating, benchmarking and technical report writing. I understand NEC contracts a lot better now, as we were only taught about JCT contracts in university. I also believe I have built upon my stakeholder management skills and managing stakeholder expectations.

I believe I was given more responsibilities than I anticipated, which i think was great a way for me to fully immerse myself into the business and learn about how things worked.

I received immense support during my placement, especially my line manager who was an exceptional guide. I was able to ask for help or advice from anybody really, whether they were involved in the project or not. My only wish was that there was a process in place for visual learners to be shown certain things rather than be instructed, as I believe people learn in different ways.

Arcadis is such a relaxed company, the culture here is amazing. Nobody is breathing down your neck, as long as you're delivering. You're allowed to make mistakes, and it is never held against you. The company is so flexible in their approach to working from home, and they're also willing to make adjustments to fit your circumstances should you be someone with children.

I really enjoyed my Placement, because personally I believe I achieved what I had set out to gain from it in the first place. I wanted exposure, develop new skills set in order to further understand what the future may look like for me after university. I also wanted to develop my network and make connections with people from different disciplines, again I have achieved this. Overall it was a great experience.

Yes

For others applying to Arcadis, my advice would be to make the most of your time with them. There are so much opportunities to develop your skills set or even yourself as an individual. There are great groups to join, you could create your own group if you wanted. There are so many things to get into and the people really are genuine, they are more than happy to share knowledge.